July 4 concert planned in park

Ken Laudermilch, director of the New Holland Band, is known for varying the musical selections he chooses for the New Holland Summer Arts Program (NHSAP) Independence Day celebration by mixing a few new numbers into the concert program. This year's concert will include eight new pieces along with some tried-and-true patriotic favorites.

As in the past, the concert will be held in the New Holland Community Memorial Park, located on the 400 block of East Jackson Street, beginning at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 4. The rain date for the event is Wednesday, July 5. Traditionally, fireworks follow the concert. Steve Nolt, who is retired from WDAC radio, will announce the concert.

For 2023, Laudermilch has selected nearly 20 numbers for the concert, and he has chosen four by John Philip Sousa, along with patriotic songs by George M. Cohan and a collection of other tunes to round out the annual concert. The concert will open with Cohan's "Star-Spangled Spectacular," and the composer's "Patriotic Fantasy" will kick off the second half. Irving Berlin's "Songs for America" will close the first half.

Sousa, the son of immigrants, was a trombonist and orchestral violinist before becoming a conductor. In 1868, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was apprenticed in the Marine Band. He eventually began his own concert band and toured the world. "'The Thunderer' was Sousa's favorite march," said Laudermilch, who chose the song for the first half of the presentation. "Manhattan Beach," which will also be played in the first half, was based on a stay of 10 weeks at the Manhattan Beach Resort where Sousa's band played several concerts a day. "He wrote this for his good friend who was the manager there," said Laudermilch. The story behind "The Liberty Bell," which Sousa wrote in Chicago while attending a conference, involves a large portrait of the Liberty Bell, which the composer saw in the Windy City, coupled with a wire from his wife that told him his son had taken part in a Liberty Bell parade in Philadelphia. "(Sousa) sat down and penned this march (following those two occurrences)," said Laudermilch. The concert will conclude with Sousa's well known "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

Laudermilch has also chosen some music to spotlight New Holland Band members, including "Fluffy Ruffles," a song based on the Boston fern, which has been arranged by Rich Fitz for marimba. "It's dynamite," said Laudermilch, who pointed out that "Victory in the Air" by the band's principal saxophonist, Warren Daugherty, will be featured as well.

Other tunes in the repertoire will include the "Armed Forces Medley," which gives veterans in the audience a chance to stand when the song representing their branch of the service is played, and "God Bless the U.S.A." by Lee Greenwood.

The performance is one of many musical presentations brought to the park each summer by NHSAP. All shows are free to the public. For more information about NHSAP and a full concert schedule, visit http://www.newhollandsummerarts.com. NHSAP welcomes volunteers. Readers who have questions may email newhollandsummerartsassoc@gmail.com.